The present invention relates to a dentist advisory system, and more particularly to a system enabling a patient to safely and effectively advise the dentist to interrupt or terminate a dental procedure.
Since frequently a dental patient cannot verbally advise the dentist to interrupt or terminate a dental procedure being performed by the dentist because the patient""s mouth contains a variety of dental instruments, it is necessary for the patient to be able to safely and effectively non-verbally advise the dentist. The dentist is typically positioned on one side of the patient, and it is the natural inclination of the patient to use the hand on that side to signal the dentist precisely because it is more proximate the dentist. This natural inclination is not only wrong, but may be ineffective and/or dangerous.
Typically the patient""s hand adjacent to the dentist is not the hand of the patient most visible to the dentist""s line of vision at the time the dentist is performing a procedure and thus is less likely to be seen by the dentist. In any case, the patient raising his hand on the side adjacent to the dentist may interfere with one or more of the various dental instruments and devices which are partially within and partially without the patient""s mouth, and may even unintentionally jar the working hand of the dentist such that the dentist accidentally injures the patient.
While the unmedicated adult patient will normally be able to follow the prior instructions of the dentist as to the appropriate hand for advising the dentist to interrupt or terminate a dental procedure (that is, the hand on the side of the patient opposite or remote from the dentist), small children and mentally impaired adult patients may not be able to control the natural impulse, regardless of the instructions provided by the dentist. Even in the case of the normal adult patient, depending upon the type of medication used to anaesthetize the patient, the medicated patient may pursue his normal impulse and forget the instructions of the dentist. For example, under the influence of nitrous oxide (commonly known as xe2x80x9claughing gasxe2x80x9d), a patient may well temporarily forget the dentist""s instructions and attempt to advise the dentist with the wrong hand (that is, the hand proximate the dentist).
Additionally, even though a patient may be informed by the dentist that the dental procedure will be interrupted or terminated if the patient advises the dentist to do so, it may be helpful for the patient to have means to continuously reassure himself that he has some control over the dental procedure being performed (that is, that he can advise the dentist to interrupt or terminate the same). To this end it is desirable for the patient to have a tactile reminder or symbol of his control over the situation in order to provide continuous reassurance to the patient.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a dentist advisory system which enables the patient to safely and effectively advise the dentist to interrupt or terminate a dental procedure being performed by the dentist.
Another object is to provide such a system which continuously reminds the patient as to which hand should be used to provide such advice.
A further object is to provide such a system with means for focusing the attention of the patient on the appropriate hand for rendering such advice to the dentist.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide such a system having means for reassuring the patient that the patient can safely advise the dentist to interrupt or terminate the procedure by means of the patient""s appropriate hand.
It has now been found that the above and related objects of the present invention are obtained in a dentist advisory system comprising means for a patient to advise a dentist to interrupt or terminate a dental procedure being performed by the dentist positioned on one side of the patient, and means to selectively operatively associate the advising means with a hand of the patient on the side of the patient opposite the dentist. Thus the patient""s associated selected hand is opposite the dentist during performance of the procedure and thus does not interfere therewith.
The advising means is preferably visual. The associating means is preferably releasably fastenable to the selected hand, optionally to a finger of the selected hand.
In a preferred embodiment either the associating means or the advising means defines a selected tactile surface for reassuring the patient that the patient can safely advise the dentist to interrupt or terminate the procedure by use of the patient""s associated selected hand. The tactile surface is preferably foraminiferous.